The dormmates looked at Yerive’s embarrassed smile and could only sigh bitterly.

Tepo hesitated for a moment before patting his friend’s shoulder and separating from the group.

As people came and left, some even returning after leaving, Tepo calmly wandered around the room, closely examining the statues and paintings.

At the same time as he saved their appearances in his mind, he used his [God's Soul] to listen to various conversations.

Tepo paid most of his attention to the church members, monitoring them closely. But of course, no one would behave suspiciously with so many people around.

Thus, Tepo soon shook his head and focused on solving the dungeon. He wanted to get it over with so he could get back to training.

His dormmates had already disappeared after touching a few mirrors as Tepo remained in the first hall. Trying to gleam any hints from the statues and paintings soon proved futile, so he came up with another idea.

Tepo didn’t exclude the possibility that the solution was hidden in plain sight.

He stood in front of a painting in the room’s corner. It depicted a valiant young man raising his spear at dark clouds.

But Tepo wasn’t here to admire the artistic conception. He straightened his back and quickly held his hand against his head for a salute.

His actions immediately attracted some attention. A few people giggled at his display, but others felt a spark light up in their minds. They hastily copied him.

Thus, in a short time people could be seen running around and saluting all the statues and paintings. Some even saluted each other or the mirrors with a ‘you-never-know’ attitude.

Unfortunately, the desired effect wasn’t achieved. The dungeon remained, the artificial core not revealing itself.

“I told you that would be too obvious.”

“Woth a try.”

“Nothing ventured nothing gained.

“Whatever.”

Afterwards the crowd quickly thinned out again. Only a few people stayed behind, waiting for others to return to this room to form a comprehensive map.

Tepo wasn’t bothered and finally approached a mirror he hadn’t seen anyone use in a while.

Varei had revealed himself a while ago, trotting next to his partner.

“What a boring dungeon.”

“Hmm? Are you lacking action?”, chuckled Tepo.

“Yes! We need a good fight to show off our superiority! We can’t make waves in such a dungeon. This is just a waste of time.”

“Why not? We just need to solve it.”

Varei threw Tepo a skeptical look.

“You know that they brought in close to a thousand people, right? And these mirrors are essentially a game of luck. Do you really think we will be the ones to solve the dungeon?”

“Mhm. I was always good at finding clues. Trust me.”

“Whatever. I just want to be done.”

“Me too.”

The two partners chuckled as they arrived in front of a mirror. With a nod from Tepo Varei touched the reflective surface first.

He immediately vanished without any sign.

Tepo waited in place, concentrating on the connection between him and the little spirit. It was another attempt to find any clues.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The connection turned faint from one moment to another, signaling that Varei arrived in a place far away. Tepo remembered the direction somewhere above him before also touching the mirror.

Without feeling himself moving the warrior entered another room. It was a lot smaller, only filled with less than ten mirrors and a few decorative carpets.

However, Tepo noticed something as he scanned the room. The mirrors stood on the floor, seemingly forming a pattern.

He kept everything in mind as he and Varei continued exploring the various mirrors. They landed in different rooms, some with blue walls, others covered in carpets with complicated patterns.

A few more paintings and statues also appeared but with a short salute those proved not to be their target.

Like this, two hours passed until Tepo and Varei entered a mirror and were brought back to the original grand hall.

Tepo let out a deep breath. He felt like he was missing something. Close to a thousand people tried every mirror but the dungeon still wasn’t solved?

At this point it was not a matter of luck anymore, but there was definitely a trick behind it.

While Tepo stood in one place, pondering, someone approached him, asking him to add his discoveries to the map.

While doing so, Tepo saw the enormous map and felt even more like they couldn’t continue like this.

“Do you know if those in the forest found anything significant?”

“Sorry, but this is Team Hyacinth’s responsibility. I don’t know much about it.

But please trust that everyone in the Church of Guiding Nature is giving it their all. Our warriors are tirelessly braving the dangerous forest.

If the clue to solve the dungeon lies within the forest, I’m sure we will find it!”

The church member wore a bright smile, doing his best to ensure Tepo.

But the young man didn’t give an answer as he committed the map to memory.

A short while later Tepo and Varei entered another mirror.

“What do you want to do now, Tepo? Should we continue to search?”

“Let’s take a look at the forest.”

“Good idea! How can we let them tell us what to do?! If this dragon spirit wants to search the forest, who dares to stop me?”

Tepo chuckled while touching the next mirror and vanishing.

Soon, they arrived in a room, which had a wall missing on one side. It looked like a clear cut as the floor, made from smooth brown stone, was suddenly exchanged for grayish- green grass.

A few branches reached into the room from outside, leading to large trees, which obstructed the sky.

The atmosphere was damp and foggy, without sunlight or colorful flowers.

From time-to-time loud roars echoed in the forest, frightening all those with weaker minds.

As Tepo and Varei stared into the forest, a voice suddenly reached their ears.

“Friends, please leave this room. We don’t want to expose you to the forest’s dangers.”

Tepo looked to the side, spotting a tall man in green clothing. The small insignia on his chest identified him as a warrior belonging to the church.

Inwardly grumbling, Tepo put on a bright smile, nodded and led Varei to another mirror.

The duo was forced to take a detour before reaching another mirror with a connection towards the forest.

This time, they prepared beforehand, both using Varei’s [Spirit Form].

This was something they had tested before. Despite activating this special spell, they would still be transported away by the mirrors.

But when they appeared in the next room, they remained invisible, not detected by the guarding church member.

Confidently Tepo and Varei walked out into the forest.

Tepo was still a bit uncomfortable, feeling the sensation of phasing for the first time. He complained, his body feeling itchy as dense pollen filled the air, passing through his ethereal form.

If the young man knew that these pollen were spread by team Blue Hyacinth to detect stealthy intruders, he might be more grateful.

Luckily, he didn’t sneak in with his own [Minor Stealth], but chose a spell which didn’t alert these pollen.

After walking for a while, making sure to be out of view Tepo and Varei deactivated their spells.

They had made it into the forest, standing below a large tree. Small critters scurried through the canopy above them, constantly in high alert with every sound.

Tepo frowned as he noticed the wildlife’s behavior.

It seems the forest is indeed dangerous. Everything is on high alert.

“Let’s avoid any beasts for now. We are only here to search for clues.”

“Sure. But what are we searching for exactly?”

“The quest mentioned a Lord Eternal Shore. Thus, I was wondering if there might be water in the forest. Maybe even a large lake or ocean.”

“Well, let’s see. It’s not like we have other clues.”

After their short discussion the duo scanned their surroundings. Tepo’s brow rose as he looked behind his back. Through a few gaps in the foliage, he could only spot a dense fog completely blocking his sight.

He expected some building there, maybe allowing him to replicate the trick he used in his first dungeon, but he could only spot the single room they had just come from. Everything else remained hidden.

Tepo frowned as he reminded Varei:

“We need to keep the path in mind! If we get lost, we might be stuck in the forest until someone solves the dungeon.”

“Should we leave marks on the trees?”

“Good idea.”

Tepo took out his knife, turning to the majestic trunk next to them. He leisurely swung his weapon, hit the tree and… nothing.

Smiling awkwardly Tepo shook arm and put his knife away.

Next to him Varei couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

“Is it funny? This was your idea after all.”

“Still funny.”

Seeing Tepo rolling his eyes, Varei stopped chucking and took out a bottle from his spatial ring.

“What is this?”

“Scented oil!”

“Why do carry something like that around?”

“To take care of my fur, of course! Their fur is each dragon spirit’s pride!”

Tepo blinked in surprise as he took the bottle, but he soon accepted the explanation. Since humans had all kinds of beauty products, why couldn’t it be the same for other races?